Patent Family

專利家族(patent family)通常是指一件專利申請案在一定時間內提出最初申請國以外的多個國家或專利組織的申請案，這個"一定時間"通常是各專利國家或是組織法定的優先權時間，所以一些網頁提供搜尋專利家族的服務，應該也是透過優先權的關聯搜尋收集的資料庫。

http://www.ipnewsflash.com/family.php
這個網站提供免費的專利家族搜尋，還不錯！

我把一件鼎鼎大名的Flash記憶體基礎專利 -- ( M-Systems Flash Disk Pioneers Ltd.)的美國案US5404485敲入搜尋欄中
得到以下結果：
AU 6269994A
CN 1078364C
DE 69414556D1
EP 0688450A1
FI 105726B1
IL 108766A
JP 2003085037A
WO 9420906A1
ZA 9401446A
...
這果然是一個基礎專利該有的申請量！

順便提一下這件的主要專利項：
1. A memory management method for a memory in which data can be written only in unwritten physical memory locations and in which a zone of contiguous memory locations can be simultaneously erased, comprising the steps of:

organizing the memory into a plurality of units;
organizing each unit into a plurality of blocks, each of said blocks made up of a plurality of contiguous physical memory locations;
establishing an allocation map for each unit which indicates the status of each block in a unit as written, unwritten or deleted;
establishing a virtual map to map virtual addresses to physical addresses;

in writing data to said memory at a virtual address:
(a) mapping said virtual address to a physical block address using said virtual map;
(b) examining said allocation map for said unit to which said virtual address has been mapped in step (a) to determine the status of a block at said physical block address as written, unwritten or deleted;
(c) if said block at said physical block address is in written or deleted status:
(1) examining said allocation map for at least one of said units to identify an unwritten block address;
(2) writing said data into said memory to said unwritten block address;
(3) changing said allocation map for a block in a unit in which said data have been written in paragraph (c)(2) to indicate as written said previously unwritten block address where said data have been written;
(4) changing said virtual map to map virtual addresses to physical addresses within a unit so that said virtual map maps said virtual address to the physical address of said previously unwritten block in which said data have been written in step (c)(2);

establishing a transfer unit in said memory in which all blocks are in unwritten status, said transfer unit including a transfer unit allocation map;
periodically identifying a selected unit, other than said transfer unit, to be erased;
reading each written block in said selected unit;
writing each written block in said selected unit into said transfer unit;
updating said transfer unit allocation map to indicate as written the status of blocks that have been written in the just previous writing step;
erasing said selected unit;
updating said virtual map to reflect the above-described movement of said written blocks.

坦白說，這個範圍我是看不出flash與一般記憶體有啥不同！但是這是一個成功的方法專利案！
Ron